


Panic of Nightmares

by tigercry



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:26:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25243861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigercry/pseuds/tigercry
Summary: Soon after the completion of SAO Kirito is wracked with nightmares. Making his and Asuna's parents work together to bring the kind of reassuring relief that he needs.
Relationships: Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Panic of Nightmares

" _Game over Kirito…"_ Heathcliff's words rang in his ears, this was the end. He had failed, failed to clear the game and release the thousands of people still trapped here in the game with him. But on top of everything else he had failed Asuna. He had failed to bring her back to the real world, he had broken his promise. _Asuna… Finish the game and keep living…_ He thought to himself as he could only stare at the sword blade currently on its path to slice through his body.

A moment later he could only stare in shock and horror as familiar caramel colored long hair and a slim figure darted in front of him. With her own sword thrust forward in a jabbing fashion. The beautiful rapier looked like a shooting star as Asuna, with her intense speed, forced her blade into Heathcliff's stomach. Leaving herself completely vulnerable.

Heathcliff's hp began to drain, but too slow to cause his sword to stop moving. His sword, glowing with a red sword skill, sliced through the air and caught Asuna from one shoulder to the opposite hip. A fatal blow to Asuna's already critically low health.

With a silent cry of pain, Asuna's grip on her rapier slackened and she stumbled back a few steps, back toward a horrified Kirito.

"Asuna!"

_Shooting star That was how Kirito described the cloaked figure sprinting across the labyrinth with a thin Iron Rapier held in their right hand. They looked like a shooting star by the way their red cloak fluttered, giving off polygons due to the lowering durability of the fabric, and the way their sword glowed, causing trails of bright purple light to scatter over their body. The trails sparkled, like mini stars breaking off of the main star that was the rapier user and their sword skill._

_It was beautiful and unique, and definitely something Kirito had never expected to see. He didn't know that many players that actually used rapiers, most of them used a much heavier sword instead of the swift and light rapiers. When the player went through the monster they were facing without slowing down, Kirito could've sworn he was watching a meteor shower of beautiful sparks and stars. The player's sword skill faded but they continued to move that fast, their speed couldn't be just the system's assist, they were skilled. Highly skilled for someone who was still stuck on the first floor just like him. Kirito watched, enthralled by the explosions of polygons and shooting star like player, making a beautiful and deadly display of skill. Sure it was overkill what the player was doing, consecutive Liner sword skills one after another, but it made Kirito nostalgic for the stars back home visible every night in the clean air. Only after all of the monsters in the area were gone did the player stop to rest. Leaning forward on their rapier and Kirito could hear their raspy breathing from his current position._

_Still, he had to find out who they were. With skills like that, that player could easily rise to the top and one day maybe even clear the game. If he didn't get to it first. "That's overkill you know," he decided to say eventually, silently checking if they were a beginner or a well-versed player._

" _Over… Overkill?" The person spoke and turned to look at him, the light cast on her hood and face from the dim lights in the labyrinth only highlighted her eyes, which were revealed to be bright and clear amber._

_However, Kirito had to stop and think, not to mention breathe at the crystal clear pools that were the girl's amber eyes. The player's voice… He was standing in front of one of the few female players in the game. A new player, a girl no less, with skills that rivaled his own despite not having been in the Beta test. "Overkill, meaning you could've just jabbed at them instead of wasting your mental energy with multiple sword skills."  
_ " _Oh." The girl the shrugged, "I'm fine."_

_Kirito looked at the girl, looking half concerned by the way she was leaning heavily on her rapier, like she was going to pass out right here and now. However, instead, he just shrugged and nodded. This girl was a shooting star, a unique and special player who was just as unique as a beautiful star. "Okay, at least let me help you."_

Kirito caught Asuna before she could fall back too far, "Noo…" his voice was hushed as he stared at her in shock and horror. "Asuna…"

_Kirito could tell that Asuna was giving him a funny look from beneath her white hood. The cloak hid most of her KoB armor, which allowed her to have some peace, and gave her the space she couldn't receive otherwise without it._

" _If you're taking me to another horror floor I'll gut you with my rapier." Asuna stated half-heartedly from beneath her white cloak, and Kirito grinned without her seeing it._

_He knew Asuna hated ghosts, no she was terrified of them. But that wasn't what he had planned today, he was determined to convince the KoB second in command to just relax for a day. So he was heading toward the tree she had fallen asleep under after he had convinced her to just lay down in the grass. He knew even without being around her a lot lately that she pushed herself way too far way too quickly. She had done the same thing since the beginning back when he first met her on the first floor's labyrinth and had no doubt that she had changed much since. "There are no ghosts. The most hostile creature around would be another player."_

_Asuna's cloak rustled as she lightly shook her head, "whatever Kirito-kun."_

_Kirito's smile widened when he felt Asuna discreetly thread her fingers lightly through his, holding his pinkie and ring finger in her own for discretion. 'I wouldn't have it any other way.'_

Kirito held Asuna in his arms, half crouching with Asuna laying across his arms and her hp bar going down to zero. "Asuna… I…"

Asuna's amber eyes forced open and her head turned to look at him. She looked tired, exhausted like she could sleep for years and not recover any of her energy. Her amber eyes were dulling, and her hold on reality slipped a little more, making her eyes glaze slightly. "I'm sorry," she breathed, beautiful amber eyes focused on his face despite her struggle to stay awake as her hp drained to nothing.

" _Asuna," Kirito spoke quietly and brushed Asuna's bangs from her face, "you're beautiful." He rarely said such things out loud. Preferring to smother her in affection when they were alone instead, but this time he said it to see Asuna's reaction._

_Asuna's cheeks flushed an embarrassed pink, and she hid her pink face in the blankets, leaving just the strap of her pink nightgown and her shoulder able to be clearly seen. Her sleepy amber eyes were rather adorable by the rather shy hint in the amber depths, and it had been part of why Kirito had spoken his thoughts aloud this morning. She didn't say anything or go to hit him though and instead stayed where she was, half asleep and drowsy._

_So Kirito took it as a good sign and scooted closer to her. Till his face was a mere few inches from her own and the blankets partially hiding her face. Kirito rested one arm around her waist and tugged her closer to him with a soft smile. "It's true," he said, feeling particularly happy and relaxed today after being able to wake up before Asuna and quietly watch his beautiful in-game wife sleep peacefully._

" _Mhmm," Asuna responded with a soft mumble and half closed her eyes, letting Kirito tug the blankets away from her face so that he could see her face properly._

_Kirito's half closed as well and he nudged Asuna's nose lightly with his own, waking her up just a little more. "You're supposed to go help your guild today remember?"_

_Asuna made a rather adorable grumble of refusal and shut her eyes completely, apparently determined to sleep for the rest of the morning and ignore her guild responsibilities. "Rather spend the morning with you," she mumbled, the words only half-audible and heavy with her sleepy status. She lightly pushed on his chest with her hands as she gave a sleepy attempt of pushing him onto his back._

_Kirito compiled and rolled onto his back, but he continued to look at her even when she scooted closer and snuggled up to his chest. Her head resting sleepily on his shoulder with one leg bent at the knee and her arm now laying across his chest. "Mkay," he eventually agreed, perfectly happy with Asuna skipping her guild duties to remain at home snuggled with him. "Just don't blame me," he added on as an afterthought and curled one arm around Asuna's upper back, his fingers laying splayed on her warm skin._

" _No promises," Asuna responded in a muffled mumble and pushed her cheek against his shirt for a moment to find a more comfortable position that would let her go back to sleep._

" _Mhm," Kirito half complained, but he would take the blame if it meant he could have more time spent alone with his wife._

_Kirito's eyes blinked open a moment later at a smaller weight flop next to him on the bed on the other side._

" _Daddy!" Yui blinked happily at her father, "I'm hungry!"_

_In Kirito's sleepy haze he couldn't help but reflect briefly on out much Yui looked like Asuna. Long rather straight hair, a small nose, tapered chin, slim body type, and perfectly almond shaped eyes. "Hi Yui," He sleepily mumbled, "can you wait till Mommy wakes up?" He peered at his daughter through drowsy eyes, "she's taking a break this morning and needs her sleep."_

_In response Yui snuggled up to her father's open side, silver eyes gazing up at her father and at her peacefully sleeping mother. "Okay Daddy," she snuggled with them, the small family all enjoying the lazy morning._

_Asuna, however, did stir at Yui's voice and would've opened her eyes were it not for Kirito lightly kissing the top of her head and murmuring that she could go back to sleep and that Yui had joined them._

"Noo… Asuna, you can't!" Kirito's voice grew heavy with despair, "don't leave me!" He half gasped half pleaded, "you can't die!"

Asuna's health bar vanished with a long beep and her body started to glow, the beginnings of a player death in the game. "I love you, so much…"

"Nooo!" Kirito cried, cradling her body to his chest like it would stop her from leaving him, "Asuna!"

Asuna's eyes closed and she broke into hundreds of polygons, polygons that Kirito tried desperately tried to grab and bring back together.

"Asuna…" Kirito's voice was half-strangled as he stumbled forward, trying to stop Asuna from leaving him. "Asuna!" The teenager fell to his knees and gave a heart-wrenching cry, "Asuna!"

He was too emotionally falling apart that he didn't notice Kyaba fading and breaking into similar polygons. Asuna was gone… His wife was dead... His vision was suddenly filled with white and he blinked, a hospital room slowly coming into view, making Kirito grasp the Nervegear on his head and just stare at the ceiling above him. Asuna was dead…

Time seemed to blur until a day later he was told finally of Asuna's condition.

"Asuna… Asuna Yuuki's dead Kirigya. The nerve gear killed her seconds before the system logouts began."

Kirito didn't want to believe it, he wanted to believe Asuna had made it out, that she was somewhere waiting for him to find her and be her knight in shining black armor armed with two swords and a love for her that would never die. "Noo…" Kirito's voice was barely audible, hardly more than a whisper as the news really sunk in. "No!" Kirito grasped his thick black hair with both hands and vigorously shook his head, "she can't!" He hunched over, not noticing his aunt's comforting hand on his trembling back. "Asuna! ASUNA!"

* * *

"ASUNA!" Kirito jerked awake with a loud yell and nearly smacked heads with his sister Sugu who had been trying to shake him awake. Kirito's onyx colored eyes were wide and he was trembling from head to toe, trembling from fear and the disorientation of waking up from the dream. "I have to get to her," he mumbled under his breath and kicked off his blankets, paying no attention to his sister as he shoved his shoes on and snatched his jacket from the floor.

"Kazuto-" Sugu tried to tell her brother something, only to have him mumbled under his breath in a rather feverish manner and move even faster. Until however Sugu grabbed him semi harshly by the upper arm. "Kazuto!" She yelled, trying to snap him from his stupor. When he looked at her blankly, Sugu took a deep breath and continued. "Mom already went and got her, Asuna should be here any moment."

The words didn't register for a few moments, the black haired boy struggled to understand that Asuna was still alive, that she was healthy and on her way there to his house. He was still trembling from head to toe from the strength of his dream, and right now nothing could reassure him it was a dream unless he saw Asuna for himself.

A moment later though his bedroom door opened completely and his aunt Midori was leading a blurry eyed Asuna into the room. With one of Asuna's arms pulled over her shoulders to help Asuna walk while half asleep. Asuna was wearing a light pink thin strapped camisole with a rather ruffled hem, white mid-thigh length shorts, and had one of Kirito's black jackets draped over her shoulders. Clearly Midori had dragged Asuna out of bed without letting her change or anything in her haste to get her there, and by the way Asuna looked; she had pulled her out of a rather good dream that usually left Asuna as drowsy and confused when she woke up as she was right now.

Kirito dropped the jacket, kicked off the shoes, and rushed toward Asuna, pushed her against a wall and pulled her into a tight embrace, trembling as he held Asuna to his body. He had Asuna lifted higher than him with his arms wrapped around her lower back so that he could easily hear her sleepy heartbeat. So that he could reassure himself that she was there by pressing his ear to her warm skin and the neckline of her shirt and listen to her sleep lazy heartbeat. Asuna was alive and was currently held tightly in his arms. It was really her, she was safe and sound, alive and well.

Asuna made a rather sleepy noise and crossed her legs around his waist with one arm looped lazily around his neck and had her free hand gently carding through his thick hair. Her amber eyes were drowsily half closed and closing as she leaned her head back against the wall and kept softly running her fingers through his hair.

Kirito heard Sugu's gasp of surprise at his rather harsh actions of pushing Asuna against the wall but paid no attention. He was still trembling like a leaf and breathing hard. He inhaled a deep breath of Asuna's scent, a smell more prominent than usual likely from her soap. The honey vanilla smell helped calm his racing heart and helped still his trembling even as he felt Asuna's hand still and heard her sleepily humming the BGM of floor twenty-two back in SAO. The music they had listened to day after day and learned to enjoy. She missed a few notes every now and then as she nodded off and blurrily woke herself to continue.

Kirito's racing heart slowly slowed to a more normal pace and the trembling stopped as he listened to Asuna's slow heartbeat and sleep ridden humming while being able to feel her body heat and the familiar sensation of her running her fingers soothingly through his hair. Now able to focus on the rest of the world he could hear Midori, Sugu, and someone else whispering softly to each other, something about Asuna staying over and the current situation. His attention was pulled to Asuna again when she spoke in a drowsy mumble.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Asuna asked in a sleep slurred mumbled, "the nightmare I mean."

Kirito lightly shook his head, not lifting it from where he could listen to her heartbeat, tears welling in his eyes at thinking back on the nightmare. He turned his head and hid his face in her chest, trembling again but from tears this time and not awake enough to be his typical socially awkward self. If he was completely awake he would be red in the face right now, but he wasn't. He was half asleep and tormented by his nightmare of this girl dying and leaving him forever. He could hear her heartbeat clearer like this and could hide his tears from everyone else in the room. Able to hide in the protection only Asuna could offer him at the current moment.

Asuna seemed to guess what the dream had been about anyway and put her cheek on Kirito's head. The vibrations from her humming helped calm him while she struggled to not completely fall asleep. After almost two months after the ALheim incident and five after SAO she and Kirito had hoped the nightmares were over. But they weren't. Asuna had nightmares about what had happened to her at Sugou's hands and Kirito had nightmares about when she had jumped in front of Heathcliff's sword. They were both haunted by those days, yet Asuna more often than not had dreams around her time with Kirito and Yui in their log cabin on floor twenty-two.

Kirito heard Asuna's humming fade and felt her breathing slow and deepen when she finally fell asleep, giving in to her drowsiness. However, he stayed where he was for a few more moments. The trembling had finally stopped, his heart wasn't racing anymore, and he felt shaken instead of deadly terrified. While he stayed in one place he listened to the three other voices in the room.

"Mr. Yuuki," Sugu was saying quietly, "my brother went through so much in SAO, most of which he won't tell anyone, but Asuna was there with him the entire time. She knows exactly what happened and probably already figured out what he had had the nightmare about. Kazuto started calling your daughter's name in a panic for fifteen minutes before he actually woke up. Something in his nightmare involved her, I wouldn't be surprised if it was something to do with the video posted online about Kirito and Heathcliff's duel. We did see Asuna die in the game."

"I know," Asuna's father sighed, "but her mother will panic if she finds out Asuna's over here with a boy when she wants her to be going through the suitors she selects for her."

Midori spoke quietly, "just this once let your daughter be with my son. They won't do anything beyond sleeping, their both asleep on their feet, and you know it's strange for them to be split up like this. They were married in the game Shouzou, meaning despite the fact that it's not a legal marriage in the real world, they lived as and were a married couple. Then Asuna went missing and now they aren't allowed to have any of the moments they should be able to share with each other after having a relationship like they did in the game."

Mr. Yuuki sighed, "alright, I'll stop by on my way to work in the morning with Asuna's school uniform and an overnight bag." By the way he stopped talking, Kirito could guess that he was looking at his sleeping daughter. "Are you sure your son won't do anything to my daughter?" he asked hesitantly, "that position isn't exactly innocent…"

"When he's hiding his tears from everyone it is," Midori pointed out while Sugu blinked briefly in confusion at the innuendo. "Kirito started by just listening to her heartbeat remember? He's probably hiding his tears right now and is looking to Asuna for comfort even though she's now asleep."

Kirito heard Asuna mumble something sleepily into his dark colored hair and knew it was time to put her down and let her sleep properly. So he carefully set her down on her feet for a second only to sweep her up into a close bridal style position and gently deposit her down onto the bed.

Kirito's cheeks pinkened at Asuna's next mumble, "I love you, Kirito," and hoped only he could hear it as he hesitated. Asuna's father didn't want him touching his daughter, so that ruled out sleeping alongside her. So where was he supposed to go? The couch. Kirito gently tugged the second pillow away from Asuna, who had pulled it into her arms, and picked up a blanket off of the floor.

"Where're you going Kirigaya?" Mr. Yuuki asked the boy in a decent amount of confusion.

Kirito looked over at him, "I'm going to sleep on the couch sir," he responded and continued toward the door. He wanted more than anything that that moment to hold Asuna close, listen to her familiar rumbling breathing, be able to escape the nightmares plaguing him by her presence next to him and go to sleep. Sleep with his significant other held securely in his arms, nestled comfortably against his chest where she belonged. However, he knew it there was a very slim chance of her father actually allowing him to stay there, next to Asuna. So he had decided on the couch despite his personal opinions.

Asuna's father looked rather conflicted as Kirito exited the room, but his decision was made for him when Asuna forced open sleep ridden amber eyes and got to her feet. Apparently, she hadn't been completely asleep, awake just enough to listen to the tiny conversation. "Kito," she spoke the nickname in a slurred mumbled followed Kirito, her footsteps a little uneven. No doubt she had been up late studying with likely only an hour or two of sleep before Midori and brought her to Kirito.

Kirito paused in the hallway and turned around to be facing Asuna, "stay here and go to sleep Asuna," he spoke to his girlfriend, the term did no justice to the kind of relationship they had had in SAO, "I'm going downstairs."

"You'll have another nightmare," Asuna half grunted and wrapped her arms insistently around Kirito's middle as if trying in her sleepy state to keep him in one place.

Kirito's eyes flickered to her father before he responded to Asuna, "I'll be fine. You're worrying too much." He dropped his voice and added on a rather rare endearment. "You're more tired than me, hun."

Asuna let her head rest against the front of Kirito's neck and shut her eyes at the endearment. "Nightmare," she mumbled simply in a stubborn fashion.

Kirito said nothing and just stood with his arms pinned, looking rather worn out and tired.

"Just go to sleep Kirigaya," Asuna's father sighed and moved past them to leave the house. "However, if you do anything to my daughter I will set a very hefty lawyer against you."

Kirito's adam's apple briefly bobbed as he nodded. However, once Mr. Yuuki past him he leaned over and lightly pressed a short kiss to Asuna's head, lingering for a few moments with his nose buried in her silky hair. "I love you," he spoke in a rather relieved mumble and Asuna just giggled sleepily.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


End file.
